1. To neither fail to meet nor exceed expectation
   "The movie whelmed me - it wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either"
    
2. To cover, submerge, engulf or bury; to overcome
   "The rising floodwaters threatened to whelm the low-lying village"

Derived forms: whelmed, whelming, whelms

Type of: arouse, elicit, enkindle [literary], evoke, kindle, provoke, raise

Encyclopedia: Whelm